Five years ago, Logan Paul set a world record when he purchased a Pokémon card for $5.275 million. It turned out to be a wise investment—the influencer and wrestler sold the card for an eye-popping $16.492 million, complete with a diamond-encrusted necklace.
This rare Pikachu illustration card, one of 39 produced for the Pokémon Illustration Contest in the late 1990s, was auctioned off at Goldin Auctions on Monday.
It’s believed to have netted the WWE star more than $8 million in profit after auction fees, which he described as “absolutely insane.”
The auction had been running for 42 days but ended on Monday after a long period of bidding, with Paul saying during a YouTube livestream that “we may have worn someone out”.
“Oh my God, this is crazy,” he added as confetti rained down after the auction.
Shortly after, Guinness World Records officials appeared on the screen to confirm that Paul had sold the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.
This time, the card is being sold in a custom necklace that Paul wore at WrestleMania 38, with the promise of hand-delivering it to the winning bidder.
The Pikachu illustration card was auctioned along with a custom diamond necklace worn by Logan Paul at WrestleMania38. – Instagram/Logan Paul
Pokémon is the highest-grossing media franchise in the world, surpassing even Disney and Star Wars. Goldin founder and CEO Ken Goldin told CNN in December after Logan confirmed he would auction the card that the card’s value has soared over the past 20 years, surpassing sports cards and outperforming the S&P stock market by 3,000%.
“This is the most coveted trading card in the world,” he said.
Goldin said Illustrator is considered “the holy grail of all Pokémon cards,” and Paul’s card is the one everyone wants because it’s nearly flawless — it’s the only Illustrator card to be considered a Level 10 card by certification body PSA.
As bidding drew to a close on Monday, the initial price stood at $6.882 million until a flurry of last-minute offers emerged during an extended bidding period that lasted several hours, bringing the final auction total to $16.492 million from 97 bids.
Paul is known for pushing collectibles to their extremes and has spent millions of dollars to protect some of the rarest items ever created, including NFTs—unique, verifiable digital assets traded on the blockchain.
The WWE wrestling star said goodbye to the card on Instagram on Saturday, saying: “Goodbye my friend. What an honor it is to be the owner of the greatest collection in the world.”
This card is just one of 20 Illustrator cards graded by PSA.
In July 2021, Paul traded a PSA level 9 Pikachu illustration card he previously owned (valued at $1.275) and $4 million in cash for this ultra-rare level 10 card.
Only eight Pikachu illustration cards have been awarded PSA grade 9, and Paul’s sale is the only PSA grade 10, the highest and most desirable grade designated by PSA.
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